## About the IMF

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [About the IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/about)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/about/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/about/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/about/bundle-manifest.json)

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### Mission and mandate
- The IMF is a global organization that works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 191 member countries.
- It supports economic policies that promote financial stability and monetary cooperation to increase productivity, job creation, and economic well-being.
- The IMF is governed by and accountable to its member countries.

### Key statistics and historical milestones
- Membership: 191 member countries.
- Founding membership: The IMF was founded by 44 member countries.
- Establishment: The IMF was established in 1944 in the aftermath of the Great Depression of the 1930s.
- Lending capacity: The IMF is able to lend about $1 trillion to its member countries.

### Core functions
- Policy advice
  - Monitoring economic and financial developments and advising countries.
- Financial assistance
  - Loans and other financial aid to member countries.
- Capacity development
  - Technical assistance and training to help governments implement sound economic policies.

### Governance and organizational structure
- Board of Governors
  - The Board of Governors consists of one governor (usually the minister of finance or the governor of the central bank) and one alternate governor from each member country.
  - All powers of the IMF are vested in the Board of Governors.
- Executive Board and management
  - The day-to-day work of the IMF is overseen by its 25-member Executive Board, which represents the entire membership and is supported by IMF staff.
  - The Managing Director is the head of the IMF staff and Chair of the Executive Board and is assisted by four Deputy Managing Directors.
- Departments
  - The IMF has 18 departments that carry out its country, policy, analytical, and technical work.

### Human resources and institutional values
- Workforce: The IMF’s global workforce is about 3,100 staff.
- Diversity: Staff hail from over 162 countries.
- Core Fund values: excellence, honesty, impartiality, inclusion, integrity, and respect.

### Policy focus areas
- Trade
  - Emphasis on open, stable, and transparent trade policies as key for economic growth, resilience, and addressing global challenges such as climate change, food security, and underdevelopment.
- Fiscal policy
  - Fiscal policy is the use of government spending and taxation to influence the economy; the IMF monitors and analyzes global fiscal trends and advises member countries on fiscal issues.
- Sovereign debt
  - Recognizes that the ability to carry debt varies widely among countries and that debt vulnerabilities have increased especially in low-income countries and some emerging market economies.

### Financing and research
- Financing
  - The IMF's resources mainly come from the money that countries pay as their capital subscription (quotas) when they become members.
  - Each member of the IMF is assigned a quota, based broadly on its relative position in the world economy, from which countries can borrow when they fall into financial difficulty.
- Research
  - Economic research is a core activity dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding of the global economy by analyzing economic trends, challenges, and their implications for individual countries and the international community.
  - Research covers exchange rates, fiscal policy, monetary policy, and global financial stability, and supports real-time advice, capacity development, and member support.

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## Content in this bundle

- [Index (PDF)](/external/np/div/2021/index.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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## References

- [BROWSE THE FACTSHEETS](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets)
- [READ THE ANNUAL REPORT](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/AREB)
- [governed by and accountable to 191 countries](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2022/How-the-IMF-makes-decisions)
- [founded](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Timeline)
- [lend about $1 trillion](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/IMF-Lending)
- [Learn more](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/IMF-Surveillance)
- [Learn more](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/imf-capacity-development)
- [LEARN MORE](https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials)
- [LEARN MORE ABOUT WORKING AT THE IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Recruitment)
- [Trade](https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/Trade)
- [Fiscal Policy](https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/fiscal-policies)
- [Sovereign Debt](https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/sovereign-debt)
- [VIEW ALL TOPICS](https://www.imf.org/topics)
- [LEARN MORE](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/where-the-imf-gets-its-money)
- [our publications](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications)
- [IMF RESEARCH](https://www.imf.org/en/Research)
- [IMF PUBLICATIONS](https://www.imf.org/publications)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/about_